Fragile
by xotakux2002x
Summary: kisame finds out one day that even though itachi is a dangerous criminal, there's a fragile side to him. kisaita fluff, oneshot


"Put me down."

"No."

"I can walk."

"No."

"Dammit, Kisame, put me down!"

Kisame sighed and looked over his shoulder to Itachi. He'd been carrying the Uchiha for over an hour, because he knew his partner was in no shape to walk. Unfortunately, the look in Itachi's eyes told him not to argue. Sighing, he stopped and let Itachi slide off his back.

He nervously watched Itachi, in case his partner's legs gave out. The Uchiha seemed fine. He stretched, took three steps forward….

And collapsed on the road.

Kisame shook his head and walked over. "See? You're in no condition to move right now." Itachi glared up at him. "Glare all you want, I'm still carrying you." Itachi's gaze softened and he held out his arms. Kisame kneeled down in front of him, and soon they were back on the road, the shark once again carrying his partner. All was silent for a while.

"How are your eyes?"

Itachi rested his head against the side of Kisame's neck. "They're fine. Just need some rest." He fidgeted slightly before speaking again. "How is…your finger?"

The shark looked down at his bandaged digit. "It's alright. Doesn't even hurt."

Itachi gently squeezed his partner's shoulders. "Sorry," he whispered.

"Don't be. Things would have been much worse for us if I hadn't done that, so don't worry."

"I'm still sorry," the Uchiha muttered. Kisame felt him relax, and his breathing even out. He grinned slightly. The mighty Itachi Uchiha had fallen asleep in the open.

His grin slowly fell. No, that wasn't right. Others could call him powerful, but that was because they didn't know the Itachi he did. He knew the Itachi that hated being called a girl, even though he knew he looked like one. The Itachi who could eat his weight in dango (not that that was very much, Kisame doubted his partner had ever weighed over 110). The Itachi who whimpered and snuggled next to him during storms. The Itachi who could screw like-

"_Dammit, keep your mind out of the gutter for once!" _He sighed_. _And then, there was the Itachi who had scared the shit out of him. It had happened not too long ago….

~~~~~~~~~~~~Two hours before~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Itachi and Kisame were walking down the road. They'd just come from a big mission, and both Akatsuki were worn out. As they were walking, Itachi stopped and turned, heading into the woods. "Itachi?" "My vision's going. We need to stop." The shark knew better than to argue. Those eyes were what made Itachi so strong. He knew that Itachi's vision was already going from using his Sharingan, so it was important not to overuse his eyes. They walked further into the woods and stopped at a small clearing.

Itachi sighed and slumped against a tree, eyes shut. "Damn, I overdid it. I'm gonna go completely blind at this rate…" Kisame sat a little way from his partner, staying quiet. He knew that Itachi would stay here for a half hour or so, just calmly sitting there with his eyes shut, before rising to his feet, indicating it was time to go. That was how it always was.

_But, wait_….Kisame looked at his partner. Itachi's eyes were shut, but his breathing was shallow and rapid. Beads of sweat were clinging to his forehead, and he was grabbing his heart. His eyes widened. _No, it couldn't be_….there were now tears in Itachi's eyes, and he was shaking. And Kisame knew. The sweat, the breathing, the shaking, all of it pointed to one thing…

Itachi was having a panic attack.

Kisame quickly moved to his partner. Panic attacks usually only lasted a few minutes, but it was scary what could happen in that time. Itachi's shaking grew worse, and he opened his mouth slightly. Kisame's eyes widened. If Itachi bit down now, there was a chance he'd bite off part off his tongue. There was only one thing he could do.

"Gah!"

Kisame winced as Itachi bit down on the finger he'd jammed into his partner's mouth. _Dammit, the weasel was biting hard enough to draw blood! _But, it was better than his tongue. After what seemed like an eternity, Itachi stopped, his panic attack over. Wordlessly, Kisame picked him up, getting back onto the road a minute later.

"We're home."

"…"

"Do you want to shower now, or in the morning?"

"Morning, thanks."

Kisame set Itachi on the bed, before disappearing into their bathroom. After a quick shower he returned, finding Itachi under the covers. He shut off the lights and crawled into the bed, allowing a little moonlight to sift through the window. After a few minutes, Itachi scooted close to Kisame. "Can I see your hand?"

Kisame held up his uninjured hand. "The other one." He paused, then slowly brought it up to Itachi. The Uchiha gingerly ran his hands over the fingers, before stopping at the bandages on Kisame's bitten finger. Wordlessly, he undid the covering, revealing a jagged cut and dried blood.

Kisame studied the Uchiha's face. He looked so sad, so…_pained_. Itachi pulled the finger to his mouth and gently kissed it. "I'm sorry," he said, looking away.

"I told you, it's ok." Kisame slid his arms around Itachi's back and pulled him close to him. Itachi wrapped his arms around Kisame and hugged him tightly. "No, it's not! I shouldn't have lost it like that, I don't know what the hell happened, but…I couldn't stop…and I hurt you…." A few tears slid down the Uchiha's face.

Kisame gently licked the tears away, sighing thoughtfully. "What?" Itachi sniffed.

"It's kinda nice when you're like this. Not the crying thing!" he quickly added after seeing his partner's face. "It's just, when we're out there, you're always so cold and emotionless….it's like you're impossible to bring down. But, when you're scared in storms, or crying like this….it reminds me that you're kinda fragile." Kisame grinned. "And I like that."

Itachi stared into Kisame's eyes, looking for any signs that he was kidding. There were none. He shut his eyes and snuggled to Kisame's chest. "Will you play with my hair?" he asked.

"Sure." Kisame gently undid Itachi's hair tie and ran his course fingers through the silky raven colored hair. He felt Itachi's breathing slow down. "Kisame." Itachi was about to drift off.

"Yeah?" Kisame smiled (not grinned, smiled) as he felt a pair of soft lips press against his cheek. "Love you."

"Love you too."


End file.
